‘They carried tons of memories’: Anand Mahindra on Mumbai’s ‘Premier Padmini’ going off-road
Today, Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra also gave a tribute to the iconic Mumbai Taxis and said that though they were clunkers, uncomfortable and noisy, they carried tons of memories for many people.
- Oct 30, 2023,
- Updated Oct 30, 2023 10:48 AM IST
Mumbai's ‘Premier Padmini,' popularly known as the ‘Kaali Peeli’ taxis, will go off-road from today (30 October). Since this announcement of Mumbai’s iconic taxi system vanishing from the streets came, several people have come forward to give their tribute to the legendary Premier Padmini.
Today, Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra also gave a tribute to the iconic Mumbai taxis and said that though they were clunkers, uncomfortable and noisy, they carried tons of memories for many people.
“From today, the iconic Premier Padmini Taxi vanishes from Mumbai’s roads. They were clunkers, uncomfortable, unreliable, noisy. Not much baggage capacity either. But for people of my vintage, they carried tons of memories. And they did their job of getting us from point A to point B. Goodbye and alvida, kaali-peeli taxis. Thank you for the good times,” Mahindra wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter).
Several users commented on the businessman’s tweet. One user wrote, “They were nippy n fast for Mumbai traffic. End of an era.”
“Journey from Bombay to Mumbai. End of an era,” added another one.
This decision to send the famous Premier Padmini off-road came shortly after the authorities removed iconic diesel-powered double-decker buses from the fleet of public transporter Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking. These buses were terminated due to the end of their 15-year running period allowed on the road.
The running period allotted to these cabs in the city is 20 years, and the last Premier Padmini was registered as a black-and-yellow cab at the Tardeo RTO, which oversees the island metropolis of Mumbai, on October 29, 2003, a transport department official told the news agency PTI. From today onwards, Mumbai will not officially have a Premier Padmini taxi running on the roads.
AL Quadros, general secretary of the Mumbai Taximens Union, recalled that Premier Padmini’s journey as a taxi started in 1964 with the model ‘Fiat-1100 Delight’, a powerful 1200-cc car with a steering-mounted gear shifter. In contrast to "big taxis" like the Plymouth, Landmaster, Dodge, and Fiat 1100, it was small and referred to as "dukkar Fiat" by the locals.
Following that, the model was renamed "Premier President" in the 1970s, and later "Premier Padmini" as a tribute to the well-known Indian queen Padmini. He said that until its manufacture was discontinued in 2001, the Premier Automobile Limit (PAL) car kept the same name.
About 100–125 Premier Padmini cabs were left unregistered for a long period after manufacture stopped for various reasons, including a lack of replacement parts. However, according to Quadros, auto dealers were able to obtain their registration in 2003, and the last cab registered at that time will now be scrapped.
Also Read: Amul's big pivot: How the dairy major is looking to make a big play in the foods space
Mumbai's ‘Premier Padmini,' popularly known as the ‘Kaali Peeli’ taxis, will go off-road from today (30 October). Since this announcement of Mumbai’s iconic taxi system vanishing from the streets came, several people have come forward to give their tribute to the legendary Premier Padmini.
Today, Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra also gave a tribute to the iconic Mumbai taxis and said that though they were clunkers, uncomfortable and noisy, they carried tons of memories for many people.
“From today, the iconic Premier Padmini Taxi vanishes from Mumbai’s roads. They were clunkers, uncomfortable, unreliable, noisy. Not much baggage capacity either. But for people of my vintage, they carried tons of memories. And they did their job of getting us from point A to point B. Goodbye and alvida, kaali-peeli taxis. Thank you for the good times,” Mahindra wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter).
Several users commented on the businessman’s tweet. One user wrote, “They were nippy n fast for Mumbai traffic. End of an era.”
“Journey from Bombay to Mumbai. End of an era,” added another one.
This decision to send the famous Premier Padmini off-road came shortly after the authorities removed iconic diesel-powered double-decker buses from the fleet of public transporter Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking. These buses were terminated due to the end of their 15-year running period allowed on the road.
The running period allotted to these cabs in the city is 20 years, and the last Premier Padmini was registered as a black-and-yellow cab at the Tardeo RTO, which oversees the island metropolis of Mumbai, on October 29, 2003, a transport department official told the news agency PTI. From today onwards, Mumbai will not officially have a Premier Padmini taxi running on the roads.
AL Quadros, general secretary of the Mumbai Taximens Union, recalled that Premier Padmini’s journey as a taxi started in 1964 with the model ‘Fiat-1100 Delight’, a powerful 1200-cc car with a steering-mounted gear shifter. In contrast to "big taxis" like the Plymouth, Landmaster, Dodge, and Fiat 1100, it was small and referred to as "dukkar Fiat" by the locals.
Following that, the model was renamed "Premier President" in the 1970s, and later "Premier Padmini" as a tribute to the well-known Indian queen Padmini. He said that until its manufacture was discontinued in 2001, the Premier Automobile Limit (PAL) car kept the same name.
About 100–125 Premier Padmini cabs were left unregistered for a long period after manufacture stopped for various reasons, including a lack of replacement parts. However, according to Quadros, auto dealers were able to obtain their registration in 2003, and the last cab registered at that time will now be scrapped.
Also Read: Amul's big pivot: How the dairy major is looking to make a big play in the foods space